Americans have 40% less net worth than before the recession, dropping from a median $135,700 in 2007 to $81,400. White households lost 26% of their net worth. Black households fared much worse, with their median net worth dropping 43%, while the median Hispanic-American household’s worth dropped 42%.

Between now and 2060, the progression towards a demographic “rectangle,” rather than the traditional triangle shown in 1950, will have taken shape. These are part of an extensive and insightful Pew Research project about shifting US age and race demography.

Since the US developed and deployed shale petroleum extraction techniques in 2009, America has become the world’s largest petroleum producer. The US has surpassed Saudia Arabia as well as a combined Europe, South America, and Central America.

Over time, the US Senate is becoming increasingly polarized based on voting records. There are many fewer bipartisan bills coming out, and only the smallest fraction of senators now fit in the “middle.”

In general, the richer a nation, the more soda|pop it drinks. America’s consumption is extreme: more than twenty liters per person higher than then second-highest country, and more than sixty liters per person higher than Canada.